Newmarket's history is celebrated

NEWMARKET — When Chris Hislop celebrates the publication of his first book, it will be a homecoming of sorts.

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By Denise J. Wheeler

seacoastonline.com

By Denise J. Wheeler

Posted Mar. 25, 2014 at 2:00 AM

By Denise J. Wheeler

Posted Mar. 25, 2014 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

NEWMARKET — When Chris Hislop celebrates the publication of his first book, it will be a homecoming of sorts.

His release event for "Images of America, Newmarket," by Arcadia Publishing, is built around images that give him a sense of place: the venerable Stone Church Meeting House; musicians with wry wit, keen eyes, and warm hearts; the string of brick mills arched along the Lamprey River.

Appropriately, Hislop — who once owned a nightclub, writes about music for a variety of publications, and is a staple at concerts throughout the Seacoast — is throwing a book release party anchored by songs. The April 12 event will feature singer/songwriters in the round paying homage to mill towns like the one he wrote about and now calls home, Newmarket.

"This project is deeply rooted in the working tradition of not just Newmarket, but many New Hampshire, and New England towns. Why not let the musicians tell the story?" Hislop said.

Hislop's book is a history of Newmarket in pictures and cutlines. It takes the reader from the town's founding in 1727, through the rise and fall of the textile mill era, to its modern day renaissance along the waterfront.

As a longtime Newmarket resident, University of New Hampshire alumni, and former owner of The Stone Church, Hislop, 32, has a history of his own in the town. But it was singer/songwriter Bill Morrissey's intimate, cigarette-and-booze-soaked novel "Edson," and his working class songs inspired by Newmarket, that brought Hislop to Arcadia Publishing.

"His works are very geared towards a small town aesthetic," Hislop says. "I love his writing and the dry, gut-wrenching delivery he gave when he sang these types of songs."

Hislop can also relate to them.

It was the mill village sensibility of Newmarket that drew Hislop there in 2001 as a college student. Born in Lowell, Mass., the familiar stone buildings with their smokestacks and steeples along the Lamprey River brought back memories of his French-Canadian grandfather and of the textile factories that sustained his family.

With these memories and Morrissey's words as the inspiration for his book, Hislop thought it would be fitting to celebrate its release with a night of music at The Stone Church. On Saturday, April 12 from 5 to 8 p.m., he will host an evening featuring Jon Nolan, Martin England, Eric Ott, Courtney Brocks, Tristan Omand, Tom Schena and Nate Laban — all songwriters who, Hislop says, have sang about work and life in a small town.

Hislop describes mill town songs as pieces that focus on topics such as integrity, work ethic and a sense of community.

"In a small town you have connections to everyone," he says. "You know the person you pass in the street. You know the person stalking the beer cooler."

His line-up for the night, he says, consists of musicians who appreciate and can articulate that dynamic.

Nate Laban certainly does. His band, Sam Hill, writes and performs songs for and about working class people from New Hampshire.

"When I think of mill town songs, I think of the town I grew up in and the more modern experience that was left after the factories shut or burned down," Laban explains. "Our people need songs about their situation to help them feel spoken for and validated. There is nothing worse than a person with tons of pride not being able to feel like they are worth a damn because they work a crap job and can't get ahead. Mill songs are for them."

Also included in the book release line-up is Jon Nolan, who spent a portion of his life touring, but has settled in Newmarket and is raising his family there.

"When I've traveled, I've always described Newmarket as a Bruce-Springsteen-song-of-a-town. Our story here is the American story — waves of immigrants working their fingers to the bone for generations, each to provide a better future for their children," he says. "You can't escape history in a place like Newmarket. The mills tower over everything. It really gives you a sense of place. The granite step in front of Marelli's is worn from 100 years of shuffling feet of folks stopping to get a morning paper, or grab a six-pack after work.

Hislop says, these days, his warm appreciation for his heritage can be conjured by the right song.

"When I was young I was into metal like Rage Against the Machine and the Deftones. Now I listen to early Wilco, Townes Vans Zandt, Uncle Tupelo and country-tinged folksters. Those songs destroy me because they grab me by the heart," he explains. "They're more skilled than metal musicians. You get older and you start to listen to the intricacies of good musicians and they kill you. I hear Bill Morrissey and I feel what he's saying."

Singer Tristan Omand echoes that admiration for Morrissey's ability to show the mill town as a microcosm of humanity.

"These types of songs are interesting to me because they usually tell a very relatable story," he said. "If you have lived here long enough, and spent time around cities like Dover, Manchester, then you know the sentiment that mill town songs express. It could be a sense of longing to get out and migrate to the bigger cities, or just a truly believable tale about people you could imagine walking down the streets of your town on any given day."

For Martin England these songs are part of the fabric of blue-collar life.

"Working persons' songs not only help us relate to one another, but also act as a type of therapy, melodies and words arranged in a way to pull us through the daily toils of 9-5," he said. "But I also think working and music go hand in hand. It helps you establish a rhythm to the day, pushes it along while keeping our brains engaged into something bigger than the task at hand."

Following the music at the book release party, Hislop said there will be a period of time to mingle, ask questions, and share stories.

This event is free. The full menu will be offered and the bar will be open. The Stone Church Meeting House is located on Zion Hill in Newmarket. For more details, see http://www.stonechurchrocks.com.

For more information on the book, visit http://www.arcadiapublishing.com.